Intervertebral disc endoprostheses (total disc replacements) which exist at present are composed of two metal end plates which are intended to allow ingrowth of the adjacent bone of the vertebral bodies owing to their macroscopic and microscopic surface texture and any additional bioactive coatings (e.g. hydroxyapatite). Into each of these end plates are integrated, in the so-called “fixed ball and socket” principle, a hood-shaped and a cap-shaped sliding surface made of metal, plastic or ceramic which by their sliding on each other preserves or reconstructs the mobility of the segment operated on. All metal end plates have the disadvantage of more or less pronounced undesired artefacts in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which impairs the quality of the images produced.
US 2007/0135923 A1 discloses an intervertebral disc endoprosthesis for implantation in the spinal column, with an upper end plate and a lower end plate for securing respectively to the bones of the vertebral bodies, and with a sliding bearing which is arranged between the end plates and is composed of sliding bodies that are designed to slide on each other, both end plates being made of plastic and the sliding bodies being made of ceramic, the sliding bodies being encapsulated by the plastic of the end plates, and the surface regions of the sliding bodies encapsulated by the plastic of the end plates having surface-area enlargements by comparison with flat surfaces.